The present invention relates, in general, to fluid quick connector assemblies which couple fluid carrying components and, more specifically, to fluid quick connector stuffer pins which pre-mount seal elements in one of the components.
Snap-fit or quick connectors are employed in a wide range of applications, particularly, for joining fluid carrying conduits in automotive and industrial application. In a typical quick connector with an axially displaceable retainer, the retainer is fixedly mounted within a bore in a housing of a female connector component or element. The retainer has a plurality of radially and angularly extending legs which extend inwardly toward the axial center line of the bore in the housing. A tube or male fitting to be sealingly mounted in the bore in the female component includes a radially upset portion or flange which abuts an inner peripheral surface of the retainer legs. Seal and spacer members as well as a bearing or top hat are typically mounted in the bore ahead of the retainer to form a seal between the housing and the male fitting when the male fitting is lockingly engaged with the retainer legs.
Radially displaceable retainers in which the retainer is radially displaceable through aligned bores or apertures formed transversely to the main through bore in the female component or housing are also known. The radially displaceable retainer is typically provided with a pair of depending legs which are sized and positioned to slip behind the radially upset portion or flange on the male conduit only when the male connector or conduit is fully seated in the bore in the female connector. This ensures a positive locking engagement of the conduit with the female connector as well as providing an indication that the conduit is fully seated since the radially displaceable retainer can be fully inserted into the female connector only when the conduit has been fully inserted into the bore in the female connector.
Regardless of the type of retainer, the female housing or component portion of a fluid connector typically includes an elongated stem having one or more annular barbs spaced from a first end. The barbs provide secure engagement with a hose or conduit which is forced over the barbs to connect the female housing with one end of the conduit.
Due to the secure engagement between the conduit and the female component, the open end of the axial through bore in the female connector portion of a fluid connector designed with an axially displaceable retainer or the transverse bores in a female connector designed to receive a radially displaceable retainer are fixed in one circumferential position depending upon the position of the tubing and the female connector when the tubing and female connector are joined together. In certain applications, this could limit accessibility to and make it difficult to insert the retainer into the female component, particularly in the case of a radial retainer. Interference with surrounding components frequently makes access to the quick connector for both locking or unlocking operations difficult, if not impossible.
Thus, two part fluid quick connectors which are easily rotatable over 360xc2x0 to facilitate insertion or removal of the retainer into or out of the quick connector have been devised. In such quick connectors, the quick connector housing, typically of one piece construction, is replaced with two engagable portions, one attachable to or mountable on a fluid component, such as a tube or conduit, and the other receiving a second conduit or endform as well as receiving the retainer for locking the first component and the second endform together.
While stuffer pins for fluid connectors having a one piece housing have been used for assembling the multiple seal elements or O-rings, a spacer, a top hat and the retainer in the connector housing, such stuffer pins designed for one piece connector housings are not usable with two part housings, particularly two part housings wherein the retainer carrying component is devised for a non-axial or radially displaceable retainer.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a rotatable two piece quick connector stuffer pin which provides the known advantages of stuffer pins in preassembling components in a fluid connector while at the same time being usable with two part fluid quick connector housings carrying either radial or axial type retainers.
The present invention is a rotatable quick connector stuffer pin which uniquely enables the seal elements and a retainer housing to be mounted to first component or housing of the fluid quick connector.
In one aspect, the stuffer pin includes a first housing having a bore extending between first and second ends and receiving at least one seal element, and a retainer housing having a bore extending between first and second ends, the retainer housing rotatably joinable to the first housing, a retainer carried in the retainer housing for locking a tubular member in the joined first housing and the retainer housing, the stuffer pin comprising a shaft with first and second ends, the shaft configured for carrying at least one seal member, a retainer housing and a retainer in the retainer housing, between the first and second ends for mounting to the first housing.
In another aspect, a flange is carried on the shaft between the first and second ends of the shaft. The flange is positioned to prevent radial movement of the retainer from a first, partially inserted, shipping position to a second, fully inserted, latching position prior to removal of the stuffer pin from the retainer housing. At the same time, the flange does not interfere with pre-mounting of an axially displaceable retainer carried in the retainer housing to the first housing component.
The stuffer pin of the present invention uniquely enables the seal elements as well as a retainer carrying retainer housing to be mounted to a first housing component of the quick connector in a simple plug-in insertion step. At the same time, the stuffer pin is configured to prevent movement of a radially displaceable retainer in the retainer housing from moving from the partially inserted, shipping position to the fully inserted latching position before the stuffer pin is removed from the joined first and second connector components. This insures that the retainer is in the first position allowing easy insertion of an endform into the aligned bores in the first and second housing components to fluidically connect the conduit or endform to the joined first and second housing components. At the same time, the stuffer pin, and the flange which prevents premature movement of the retainer, does not interfere with the use of the stuffer pin to carry a retainer housing with an axially displaceable retainer.